


Snapshots

by the_wonder_gays



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Clexa, Clexa w/ Kiddos (bc it's the cutest), Collaboration, Doting Mama Clarke, F/F, Family Feels, Feelings, Fine Stud Lexa, Multi, Octaven, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Sweet Girlfriend Clarke, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-07-12 02:18:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7080808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_wonder_gays/pseuds/the_wonder_gays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke Griffin is a stressed out single mother; attending college, working two jobs, raising a daughter, and living with her two best friends in a quaint two bedroom apartment in East Village. Lexa Woods is the prodigy CEO of her family business; filling every waking moment since graduation with trying to run her family's company smoothly, keeping her shareholders happy and keeping her prestigious parents appeased, while living a quiet life, alone, on the Upper East Side.</p>
<p>By chance on the same night, Clarke and Lexa both end up being coerced into taking the evening off to relax, going out for drinks at the same club with their respective best friends. The two of them are supposed to be taking a night for themselves but when fate lays a hand, they end up finding each other instead. Then, life happens. </p>
<p>Life is lived day to day but memories are like snapshots. These are snapshots of that life together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snapshots

**Author's Note:**

> We're back at it again with the feels factory. This was also written collaboratively, we're trying out some different stuff in terms of the writing style, so bear with us. Hope you enjoy!

 

It was weeks like this one that made Lexa wish she had told her father no for once in her life. She wished she had gone to college for anything, literally anything, other than business management. It was dull, and it was tedious, and as much as she enjoyed the financial aspect of it all, was she truly even happy? This week had been full of sixteen hour work days, calls to the Netherlands at ungodly hours of the morning, business meetings with her board of directors, meetings with Anya, and of course, the largest stack of reports she had ever looked through.

God, reports were the bane of her existence. Lexa was pretty sure she hadn’t been home in days, opting instead to sleep on the couch in her office because she honestly didn’t have time to drive the thirty minutes back to her apartment on the upper East Side

She was exhausted, but she felt a sense of pride about today. They had closed their negotiations that morning, and she had come out on top. Her father would be proud; or at least, she hoped he would be.

Anya had told their father no, and now Anya got to run the nonprofit sector of the corporation, as well as being Lexa’s adviser. Lexa hated that her father was ballsy enough to make his youngest daughter the CEO of the company as soon as she graduated from grad school, but yet he still kept his fingers in everything by making Anya her personal adviser. Even though she was technically in charge of the company, she was still Anya’s second, just as she had always been.

James Titus Woods had been planning on have two sons, and instead he had gotten her sister Anya and her. She had been her mother and father’s second and last chance for a son. It had been hard enough for her parents to have two children, a third had been almost out of the question, but it was like James was cursed. He acted like it too, but he didn’t let it stop him from raising both his daughters the way he would have raised sons. Lexa’s earliest memories weren’t of summer trips to the coast, or playing in play houses, or anything remotely normal that most children did. Instead they had been sent to a special pre-school with college prep in mind.

In fact, most of their lives had been geared towards preparing them for the future. They were sent off to boarding school once they were old enough, because their parents were too busy building their multi-billion dollar business to keep track of their two young daughters. Lexa had never really felt much compassion for either of her parents, but much like everything in their lives, it was more about business than family. They spent holidays together, pretending to be the perfect family, but unless they were talking business, they didn’t talk. Anya was really all she had, and even that was a strained relationship.

Lexa had always been closer with Anya than with their parents. She suspected it had to do with the fact that she had disappointed them more with her gender than her sister had, but for whatever reason, for most of her life, Lexa had felt like she was on the outside looking in.

She had adapted, though. Lexa had decided a long time ago that she really didn’t need a family. She honestly didn’t need anyone. So long as she kept her father off her back by doing as he asked, Lexa could live however she wanted, but weeks like this made her wonder if there should really be more to life than paperwork and stuffy business suits.

It was Saturday afternoon by the time she was finally done with the last of her work that was left over from the week, and she had her secretary clear her schedule on Monday so she could take the day off. Screw it, if Anya got mad then Lexa would certainly tell her sister where to shove it. Lexa would probably end up working a little from home anyway, she always did. Costia had called her earlier in the week, between her meetings, and demanded that they go out with Lincoln on the weekend. She certainly wasn’t about to pass that up.

Lincoln and Costia were the only two people in all of New York that Lexa counted as friends. They had been with her through thick and thin, all throughout boarding school, college, and grad school. Even though they were all getting older now, they still tried to go out and be young at least a few times a month. Lexa was pretty sure if Costia didn’t drag her out to socialize at least once a week, then Lexa would never see any other people besides the ones that she worked with. Lexa could be self absorbed sometimes, particularly when it came to her work and her business.

Costia knew that about her, because it had been one of the main reasons that they had broken up. Lexa was just glad that after their break up, and all the hurt and weirdness between them afterward, that she and Costia had been able to become close friends again. They made much better friends than lovers anyway.

Lincoln was probably the only other person who was related to Lexa, besides Anya, that she actually appreciated. In fact, Lexa actually liked her cousin a lot more than she liked her older sister. Lincoln was related to them from her mother's side of the family, the side of the family not all born with golden spoons in their mouths, but he and Lexa had always been surprisingly close as children. When they ended up going to the same college, it had only made sense to be roommates.

Lexa missed living with him in their shitty, drafty little apartment off campus. Those had been some of the best years of her life, some of the most carefree. After graduation, Lexa had even offered to pull some strings to get him a job in the creative department of her company, but Lincoln had refused. Her cousin wouldn’t even let her help him pay for his tiny studio in Greenwich Village, something that they had fought heatedly about for several weeks after college, but in the end Lexa backed off about it.

If Lincoln was happy being a starving artist, then who was she to take that from him? Sometimes, Lexa worried that she was more like her father than she wanted to admit, always trying to control the lives around her in the name of what she thought was best.

On this particular night, the three of them had ended up at one of their favorite clubs in Greenwich Village, not far from Lincoln’s place. The club was having an eighties themed party that night, and it was also a gay club, which worked out surprisingly well for all three of them despite the fact that Lincoln was straight. He didn't seem to mind. Lexa herself wasn’t really sure that she was even looking for anything tonight, even though the club was crowded with people, a lot of them beautiful women.

The last girl she had brought home from the bar a couple of weeks ago had shown up at her place of business the next day, when Lexa wouldn’t return her calls, and Anya still wasn’t letting her live that one down. It had been mildly humiliating.

Lexa was exhausted tonight anyway. She had been planning on nursing a drink for the evening and playing wingman for Costia and Lincoln. She was actually kind of looking forward to stretching out and sleeping alone in her bed when she got home tonight. Maybe she was finally growing up a little bit.

By the time Costia pointed out the blonde woman and her friends to Lexa, they had been at the club with Lincoln for a few hours already. They had done a few rounds of the club, and did some shots, they had even danced - perhaps a little more scandalously than friends should have but that was what made it fun -  and Lexa was beginning to maybe reconsider her wingman only status from earlier, when her ex nudged her in her side with an elbow.

“Check out blondie over there,” Costia said quietly, tilting her chin. Lexa sipped her drink, and tried to be nonchalant as she glanced in the direction her ex had indicated. Lincoln looked over as well, although he was a lot less subtle than Lexa was.

“She’s cute, right?” Costia asked, a little rhetorically.

“That little brunette she’s with sure is,” Lincoln chimed in, leaning his arms on the table with a big grin. His smile was quickly wiped from his face though, as the three of them watched the shorter brunette, the one that he'd been talking about, leaning over to kiss the taller brunette standing next to her. Costia and Lexa immediately burst out laughing.

“Sorry Lincoln,” Costia teased him, as Lexa still roared with laughter from beside her. “She looks awfully taken. I think you’re barking up the wrong tree, bud!”

Lexa clapped her cousin on the back, still chuckling. “I swear, Lincoln.. for someone who hangs out with only lesbians most of the time, your gaydar is fucking terrible.”

Lincoln finished his drink, and shot the two women a playful glare. “Okay, what about blondie then?” He asked them. “You think I have a chance there?”

Both women considered the blonde woman for a second, studying her from afar. Lexa caught the blonde woman’s eye on accident, and smirked to herself. She winked across the club at the blonde when their eyes met momentarily.

“Sorry Lin,” Lexa said, finishing her own drink quickly, sliding the empty glass across the table. “That one is mine.”

Lincoln groaned, “You guys are seriously the worst wingmen ever.”

Costia patted his hand sympathetically, and gave Lexa a knowing side glance. Lexa knew exactly what Costia was going to say before she even opened her mouth, and she didn’t hesitate to chime in.

“Sorry, but that’s the real world, cat!” They both said in unison, laughing after. Lincoln rolled his eyes at them good naturedly.

Lexa wasn’t even sure when it started, or if it had been Anya or Costia who had started saying it originally, but turning the phrase on each other had become a staple in their lives ever since they were teenagers. She still hated when Anya used it on her, which was often. Costia had been Lexa’s friend first, but somehow, Costia and Anya had become almost closer over the years than Lexa and Costia were. It irritated Lexa to no end, but there was really nothing she could do about it except for simply accepting it for what it was.

“Don’t worry,” Lexa told her cousin, after their laughter had died down a bit more. “That redhead behind the bar is definitely on your team, and I’m pretty sure that she was checking you out earlier when you got drinks.”

Costia nodded along. “C’mon lover boy, we all need more drinks anyway. Let’s leave the stud here to go and work her magic.”

Lexa mouthed a quiet “thank you” at her ex-girlfriend, as Costia promptly dragged Lincoln off to get more drinks, leaving Lexa alone at the table. She glanced back up at the blonde woman across the club again, locking eyes for a brief moment with her before the blonde looked away, again. Lexa couldn't help the amused grin that tugged at her lips.

There was something about blondie that piqued her interest, but she wasn’t quite sure what it was just yet. Lexa just felt it. She wanted to know this woman, Lexa _needed_ to know her. Just looking at her from afar was making Lexa’s heart flutter in a way that she wasn’t used to. But for once, it didn’t scare her.

* * *

 

It had taken a lot of convincing and a lot of promises, and probably more threatening than was healthy for a lifelong friendship, but Octavia and Raven had eventually gotten Clarke to agree to go out with them for the night.

Octavia had made it clear that while she wasn’t exactly sure how long it had been since Clarke had gotten laid, Clarke obviously needed _something_ to help her unwind _,_ that much was clear. Clarke was so damn restless and cranky lately, whenever the blonde wasn’t busy at work or at school, she had been starting to drive Octavia and Raven insane whenever she actually _was_ at home.

Besides, Octavia’s stance seemed to be that she really cared about her friend, and dragging her out to socialize was being done out of _love_ and concern _._ Octavia knew that even though Clarke claimed she was perfectly happy with her social life right now, O knew better. Octavia _always_ knew better.

Honestly, Clarke _really_ hadn't wanted to go, but what could she really say when O literally refused to leave her alone, or stop pestering her for five minutes? There were a lot of more productive things that Clarke could be doing on a Saturday night. Things like studying, or taking an extra shift, because it wasn't like they didn't need the money. Clarke was pretty sure that it would be a lot more productive for her to be working tonight, making some extra cash, rather than going out and spending their hard earned money like they were bound to end up doing at some club.

It would already cost ten dollars in cover for each of them to get inside, which was thirty dollars between them for a cheap plastic wristband each and the privilege of walking through the club doors. Clarke had been complaining under her breath about being ripped off ever since agreeing to go along, because even if she agreed to go, she wanted Raven and Octavia to agree that paying that much for cover was outrageous. Her two friends labeled her as ‘cheap grandma’ for the rest of the day, until the blonde finally stopped complaining.

First of all, Clarke was never really the type of girl that was made for the club scene. Secondly, she knew that Octavia insisted that Bellamy wouldn't mind watching Ellie tonight, but Clarke felt like there was something distinctly tacky about dropping their daughter off on his doorstep on the very first day that Bell stepped foot back on American soil. He had just gotten back to base today.

Clarke was afraid that it made it seem as though she didn't want Ellie around or something, as if she couldn't wait to pawn her off on her dad, which couldn't really be further from the truth.

Clarke loved her daughter with the intense fire of a thousand suns from the very second she laid eyes on Ellie’s curly little blonde head, no questions about it. Whether things had worked out with her and her daughter’s father or not, and things between her and Bell really hadn’t worked at all, it didn't really matter. Clarke loved Ellie and she _knew_ Bell loved Ellie so really, what did it matter if they were together or not? So long as Ellie knew that she had two parents who cared about her, that was what mattered.

The deterioration of the relationship between and her and Bellamy really didn't have anything to do with Ellie. It didn't even really have anything to do with Bell; they were kids who hadn’t known what they wanted and in the end, what they had wanted were different things. He was Octavia's older brother, so she had known him most of her life, and he was cute. His smattering of freckles were definitely something that she was glad Ellie had inherited from her dad.

Clarke was pretty sure that she had convinced herself that she loved him, over the summer before tenth grade, and it was all the fault of those damn freckles. Even though he could be the most surly asshole in the world when he wanted to be, he had his moments. Things had been good, for a long time.

They had dated throughout her high school years, even though he was two years older. They had Ellie, accidentally but happily enough, just before Clarke graduated, but try as they might, things just hadn't worked out.

Bell had joined the military shortly after Ellie was born, even after Clarke asked him not to. She had wanted to take Ellie and move into the city after high school, to go to college and live with Octavia and Raven, and Bell hadn't wanted that. They were just too fundamentally different from each other, Clarke had decided it one day, and that was okay. They were two different people, walking on two completely different paths, with their eyes on two completely different end goals, and that had been all there was to it.

She and Bell didn't even particularly hold ill feelings toward each other, all of their history together and awkward things considered. It might have had to do with the fact that his little sister had been and still was one of Clarke’s best friends, practically since kindergarten, but things were generally very civil between her and Bellamy. Which she appreciated, for Ellie's sake. They did better for their daughter when they worked as a team, and Octavia made sure they kept the peace, even when they were annoyed with each other.

But despite their good rapport, Clarke still wasn't keen on the idea of just dropping Ellie off on his doorstep without really giving him much notice, just because Octavia had decided on a whim that they _needed_ to get out tonight. Clarke supposed, at least, that if anyone could understand O's whims, then it had to be her own older brother. Octavia had always been dead set on getting her way in the end, one way or another, for as long as Clarke had known her and presumably before.

Tonight was no exception, despite Clarke's complete lack of enthusiasm about going. It truly had taken Octavia most of the afternoon to even coax Clarke off the couch, where the blonde had been lounging in her sweats, trying to catch up on class work. Between two jobs and looking after Ellie, even if she had Octavia and Raven in the apartment to take some of that load from her back, there often wasn't enough time left for school as Clarke would have liked. Even if it was only art school, it meant a lot to her, it was her passion.

Clarke was up to her neck in student loans because of her passion though, and lately, she'd still only had the time to actually attend night classes and only if Octavia and Raven were home to put Ellie to bed. Half of the time, Clarke’s day started at five in the morning but didn't end any earlier than midnight. Clarke wouldn't finish her degree until her daughter was twenty if she kept going at her current rate, and she often worried that she might die of exhaustion before then anyway.

But hey, people out there had it worse than she did. That's what Clarke told herself, when she felt her most bummed out.

She had a decent two bedroom apartment in East Village, which she shared with her two amazing lifelong best friends and her daughter, and even if they drove each other crazy sometimes, they were all happy. Their home had food in the fridge, heat, a couch for her to sleep on, and their bills were (usually) paid. She didn't make great money, but she had employment and she was actually getting an education, albeit slowly and expensively, which was better than nothing. Ellie was a healthy, bright four year old. She had inherited every bit of her Aunt Octavia's attitude, in miniature form.

Life could always be worse. Clarke was a big believer in at least _trying_ to look on the bright side, even when things weren't necessarily at their brightest.

Even when her dad had died, back when they were all just teenagers, or when she found out she was pregnant and had to tell her mother, or even when she and Bell had broken up, Clarke tried to look on the bright side. Even in those truly shitty situations, she really did try.

It helped to have friends like Raven and Octavia, who were on her ass the very second that they suspected she was beginning to feel down on herself.

She might have acted like the two of them annoyed the hell out of her sometimes, and they really could be a little _quieter_ at night - considering that their bedroom was directly next to Ellie's bedroom and if she started asking questions, Clarke was sending her to them - but Clarke really didn't have that much to complain about. Clarke had two great best friends, all things considered.

Clarke appreciated the small things, and tried to derive joy from the little things in life. Things like a quiet night of just being able to relax on her couch and read the few things that she needed to read to catch up on for class next week. That had been all that she had really wanted to do tonight. Eventually Clarke realized that she would never ever get any peace and quiet to read ever again, unless she gave in to her friends. So when she had reluctantly began to agree to Octavia's pestering, it was only after several hours of trying to ignore it and shrug it off with every excuse in the book.

Clarke really gave in once even Ellie joined in the teasing, mimicking her aunts and telling Clarke to get her butt in the shower already.

Clarke still hadn't truly wanted to, but she packed an overnight bag for Ellie and sent her off to be delivered to her dad's place by Octavia anyway. She stood there, pouting at Raven once they were gone, before informing her friend that she wasn't wearing _anything_ ridiculous tonight. She had heard exactly what Octavia had instructed her girlfriend before she took off with Ellie, for Raven to make sure Clarke got dolled up, and Clarke was not getting hussied up for anyone tonight but especially when she didn't want to go in the first place.

Raven waved her off a little but seemed to agree, nothing _too_ hussy. It wasn't the most reassuring. Clarke had still been worried about what kind of outfit was going to be waiting for her when she got out of the shower and finished doing her hair.

In the end, it could have been worse, as was typical with her life. The dress that Raven had picked out for her actually wasn't bad at all, it covered a lot more of her skin than anything that Octavia would have chosen for her would have covered, and while she thought that the matching break-your-neck heels were a bit much, she couldn't really be bothered to argue. They were even benevolent enough to let her pick her own jewelry. Clarke always felt a little unnatural, when she was getting all done up to go out to a club. She was just always most comfortable when she was relaxing at home.

Even when they had been teenagers, the party scene hadn't really been Clarke's thing, it wasn't _her_ scene and not just because she had become the teen mom of the group during senior year.

She couldn't drink like Octavia and Raven, for one. They were a lot harder to keep up with than their outward appearances implied. They looked like a couple of skinny girls, but they could drink grown men under the table. Clarke didn't stand a chance, really, but they were fun to go out with. She couldn't deny that. Even when she complained about going out, her friends always made sure that she had a good time whenever they got where they were going.

By the time Raven and O decided where they were going, and they were _finally_ out the door and on their way to the club in the back of a cab, Clarke was already having second thoughts. She just had a weird feeling in her stomach, like maybe she had made a bad decision and maybe she should have put her foot down about staying home tonight after all.

Had she remembered to unplug her hair straightener before they left? What if the apartment burnt down? Had she remembered to pack everything that Ellie would need? Did Bell have her new cell phone number? What if something serious happened and Bell couldn't get a hold of her? Her dad hadn't been in the country for almost a year, what if Ellie got homesick at his place and wanted to come home

When the three of them actually rolled up to the club they had picked, it was already eleven o’clock and the place was packed. Clarke had been chewing her lip nervously while they waited in line to get inside, not even paying attention as the bouncer checked their IDs and then ushered them through the double doors. She followed Octavia and Raven to the nearest and only empty table, not even really remembering what her answer was when Raven asked her what she wanted to drink.

Clarke was pretty sure that she might have just said, whatever you want to get me, and then went back to chewing her lip and hoping that Ellie would be okay. Ellie really hadn't seen her dad in a long time, and even if she had insisted she was excited to see him, her daughter almost never had sleepovers away from home. Clarke just worried.

While Octavia told Raven what she wanted to drink next, exchanging a quick kiss with her girlfriend before Raven left to go to the bar, Clarke spent her time glancing around the club, seeming to remember for the first time that they were even inside of a club. Raven had no sooner left to get drinks, before Octavia began making a point to prowl the club for someone, anyone, to set Clarke up with tonight.

Clarke herself looked across the way, pulled out of her thoughts when she locked eyes for a split second with a brunette, who was sitting at a table on the other side of the room. Her deep green eyes drew Clarke in immediately, and drowned her in the intensity of the other woman’s gaze.

There was a momentary spark. The blonde’s eyes widened as the brunette woman pointedly winked at her when she saw her looking back, but Clarke was quick to turn away and look back at Octavia instead.

“What do you think about that table over there?” Octavia asked Clarke. She motioned to a table across the club from theirs. “That guy is pretty cute, right? See? I told you there would be guys here for you to hit on!” She insisted. “I told you on the way here, just because it's a gay bar does _not_ mean it’s all lesbians. It’s two thousand and sixteen, Clarke! Tons of straights go to the gay club! Not to mention that _lots_ of people in here swing both ways too, y’know?”

Octavia returned her attention to the table across the way, her eyes narrowed mischievously, her lips turned up into a smirk. Even if Clarke was going to be stubborn and insist that she didn’t need this night off, Octavia knew better. Clarke could be so thick headed sometimes, when she wanted to be a stick in the mud. O had already noticed the intense looking brunette woman that was sitting next to the guy they were checking out, and how she was glancing over at them as well.

"Huh?" Clarke mumbled, as she realized Octavia was talking to her. "Which table?" She asked. She followed Octavia's gaze and inwardly groaned. Octavia was talking about the exact table Clarke had been looking at, the one with the girl that she had just accidentally had some kind of weird eye sex with. Clarke tried her hardest to look at the cute guy that Octavia was talking about, instead of looking at the super intense brunette beside him.

"He's.. yeah, he's cute," Clarke agreed. Her tone lacked enthusiasm. She didn't really care about cute; cute was a dime a dozen. He did have nice dimples though, when he laughed.

“You should go say ‘hi’ to him,” Octavia suggested. “Unless you’re looking for something else tonight, because I’m _pretty_ sure that his hot lady friend is also checking you out.”

Before Clarke really had much more of a chance to appreciate the guy any further, or consider actually going over, he and the other woman at the table started standing up. There was soon no one left at the table for her to look at except for the sharply dressed brunette that was not so subtly still staring Clarke down. Their eyes met again, for a few seconds longer this time, before Clarke had to tear her gaze away and wonder why her heart felt like it was running a mile a minute in her chest all of a sudden.

She didn't want to look across the room again too soon.

Raven returned with their drinks and shots then, balancing them precariously on a tray, and Octavia gave her girlfriend a not so chaste kiss on the lips once she was close enough to reach her.

“Thanks, baby.” Octavia said. She helped herself to one of the shots after pulling away from the kiss.

"You're welcome, babe," Raven answered Octavia easily, smiling against the kiss that her girl bestowed upon her once she had put their various drinks safely down on the table.

Clarke hadn’t been entirely listening to everything that Octavia had said earlier on the cab ride over, or even when they first arrived, but when she looked back to her two friends and tried to involve herself in their conversation, something that O had said earlier suddenly clicked home.

Clarke reached over swatted her friend. "Did you say this _is_ a gay bar? I _knew_ this was a gay bar, I asked you that when you guys were picking where to go!" Clarke hissed at her, lowering her voice as she glared at O from across their own table.

She wasn't opposed to going to a gay bar, she didn’t mind at all, but Clarke just wasn't sure she had a thorough enough resume to be in there; her actual experience with the same sex only extended to having dated a girl for a whole week once and the girl had been Raven, back in junior high school. She wasn’t sure that even counted. Or who was doing the counting.

"I know it's two thousand and sixteen, Octavia, god. I'm not being like, judgmental or anything,” Clarke insisted. “I just.. I don't want to lead anyone on. I definitely don’t want to lead twice as many people on. I'm not.. here to hook up. End of story. Is this that kind of club? This is so stupid. I'm not just going to magically _meet_ someone, so if you brought me here to try and hook me up with some girl, you're barking up the wrong tree," Clarke scoffed.

Clarke was still trying to avoid looking across the room in the direction of those green eyes, the ones that that she thought might still be looking her way, while Raven unloaded drinks from the tray. Octavia’s earlier dig about how cute guy's lady friend was looking in Clarke's direction had only confirmed what the blonde had been thinking, that it was still happening, the brunette was still checking her out. Clarke refused to turn around and check for herself.

“This is stupider than when you guys downloaded Tinder on my phone and swiped all those people without telling me and I started getting all of those messages..” Clarke sighed.

"Just remember when I go home alone tonight, that I told you over and over that I’m not looking for _anything_ here," She reminded them, for probably the hundredth time since they'd left their apartment.

Octavia rolled her eyes, practically out of her head, because Clarke had told her at least three times in a row that she wasn’t trying to hook up with anyone here at the club, just since they got to the club. She didn’t miss the way Clarke looked at the woman across the room, though.

Damn, why didn’t Raven look at _her_ like that?

While Raven distributed their drinks properly to the table, Clarke grabbed the nearest one to her first, pulling it close and finishing most of it quickly with a couple of gulps through the cocktail straw. If Octavia was really going to be on her ass like this all night, teasing her,then she was getting fucking drunk.

While Clarke destroyed her drink, Raven pulled Octavia closer to her body, kissing her girlfriend more fiercely the second time before she let her go. She  kept an arm looped affectionately around O from behind, while she raised an eyebrow at how quickly Clarke made history of her drink

Octavia couldn’t help the toothy grin on her face once she and Raven’s kiss broke apart. She felt a little light headed and she hadn’t even started drinking yet. Well, that was a lie, she had downed like three shots before they had left the apartment. Octavia shrugged at Clarke, before grabbing her own mixed drink and leaning back into her girlfriend’s one armed hug a little while Raven sidled up comfortably behind her.

Clarke certainly didn't seem like she cared what drink Raven had brought back for her, with the way she downed her cup before Raven could even properly put it down or explain what it was. Raven already had a feeling that she and Octavia were going to have to do a round of rock-paper-scissors, to figure out who was going to hold Clarke's hair later on if she kept drinking like that.

It was a time honored tradition, ever since the first time they had given Clarke her first taste of alcohol as teenagers, that one of them would end up being Clarke's hangover buddy. Best two out of three in rock-paper-scissors was more fair than standing around and bickering about who was gonna rub Clarke's back and put her hair up for her when she got wasted and started sobbing and vomiting the next morning.

"I didn't know what you wanted, space case, so I just got something with an umbrella," Raven shrugged. Not that that it mattered, Clarke drank it so quickly that Raven wasn't even entirely sure that the blonde tasted it.

Clarke shrugged back at her friend, slurping up the very last few remnants of her drink with the straw before sliding the empty glass toward the middle of the table.

In addition to their mixed drinks and a generous round of shots balanced on the tray, Raven had managed to carry over tall cans of Guinness for each of them as well, and Clarke helped herself to the beer next, cracking it and sipping at it eagerly.

Raven raised another eyebrow, looking down at her girlfriend briefly before she let Octavia go from her loose hug. She took the chair beside O instead, resting a hand gently on Octavia’s leg under the table. Raven reached over to take her own can of beer, regarding Clarke curiously while she cracked her own tab.

"You eager to drink tonight?" Raven asked Clarke, who simply shrugged her shoulders again.

"Well, you guys _insisted_ on making me come tonight,” Clarke reminded her, “And if I'm not here to hook up.. then I kind of have to do _something_ to pass the time, don't I?”

Raven couldn't really argue with that, she supposed, so she shrugged her own shoulders and slid one of the shots over toward the blonde girl. "Fair enough. Drink up then, I guess," the tall brunette shrugged, while Clarke took the shot from her, "But I wouldn't count your eggs before they're hatched with this no hook up thing, Griffin. Has nobody else noticed that baby face dyke in the suit, with the smoldering eyes, that's checking her out?"

Raven whistled low, grinning wildly when Clarke started to blush almost right away from her teasing. It even sounded like the blonde almost choked on her liquor a little. “If looks could kill.. or undress. You'd be dead, Griffin. Or naked.”

“See? You shouldn’t rule it out so quickly!” Octavia informed Clarke, flashing her friend a satisfied grin. Raven had totally just proven her point. “You should at least go talk to her, get her number or something? C’mon, she’s got some _seriously_ gorgeous eyes, she dresses well, and Raven sees it, I see it. Cutie looks like she is _seriously_ interested in you, Clarke. Just live a little!”

"Why in the world would I go talk to her when I _just_ told you that I'm not here to hook up and get numbers? You told me I could just get drunk and dance with you guys if I wanted.. as you'll recall, that was the deal," Clarke reminded Octavia while scowling at her, nursing her beer and hiding some of her frown behind the lip of the can. They had a point though, as much as Clarke hated to admit that.

The brunette girl did have gorgeous eyes, and she was dressed very sharply. She was very pretty. There was definitely something.. interesting about her. She certainly caught Clarke's eyes more than anyone else in the crowd, but Clarke was adamant that she _really_ hadn't come here to pick anyone up tonight, or to be picked up. So the blonde told herself that it didn't matter.

It was easy to see that Clarke had _clearly_ noticed the woman that her friends were teasing her about though, whether Clarke wanted to admit it or not. It was easy for Raven and O, who had known her for years, to pick up on simply judging by that flustered reaction she had given them. They knew they were onto something, and Raven nudged Octavia with her elbow, her grin turning wicked. Clarke could already tell that Raven was getting ready to say something smart, just from her mischievous looking expression.

"Screw you guys," Clarke told the two of them weakly, grabbing another shot from the table and sticking her tongue out at her two friends. She downed it quickly, not even really tasting it, before sliding the empty shot glass toward the center of the table with the rest of the empties. Most of which, so far, were her empties.

"Clarke, sweetie.. if you need someone to screw you, that brunette over there seriously looks like she's ready for you, any time,” Raven laughed. “Turn around and look at her, come on! Make contact!" She insisted.

Octavia grabbed her own shot, and downed that as well, snorting as Raven continued picking on Clarke about the woman across the club. O had certainly noticed Clarke eyeing her up earlier while Raven was gone, even if Clarke thought she was being subtle, and she certainly noticed the blush on Clarke’s face now that they were teasing her.

Octavia high-fived Raven. “Damn bitch, you just slayed her,” O laughed loudly, with a cheeky smile at the other brunette. She leaned over to kiss Raven quickly again. “God, I fucking love you.”

Clarke simply rolled her eyes at the burn, while Raven and Octavia high-fived over it. Clarke found herself shaking her head and wondering, once again, _why_ she had agreed to go anywhere at all with these two (lovable) idiots. Clarke didn't even think that Raven's teasing remarks about the brunette women were all that witty, despite Octavia's boisterous laughter, which only made Clarke want to roll her eyes even more.

How did they even know that the brunette was _really_ looking at Clarke? For all the three of them knew, the woman could have been trying to look past them, maybe looking for someone that she _actually_ knew. Their table was probably just blocking her view or something, surely it was just innocent. But then why had the woman winked at her?

Clarke hated being Octavia and Raven’s third wheel sometimes, exactly because of situations like this, because they always seemed to find a way to gang up on her, while working together. That would be the one advantage of having a fourth friend in their group, having some back-up against those two fools.

Octavia snickered, wiggling her eyebrows teasingly at Clarke. “C’mon Clarke! Just go talk to her! She clearly wants you..” She teased.

“She totally does,” Raven agreed with her girlfriend, before turning on Octavia, elbowing her gently again. "Babe, how come you don't look at _me_ like that anymore, huh?"

Octavia balked at little at Raven when her girlfriend called her out. “What? I do so have a look like that! I totally have a sexy look that I give you!”

Raven gave her girlfriend a playful shove, pouting her lower lip out at Octavia. "You do not, not like that! You _never_ look at me like baby face looks at Clarke," Raven whined. “Your clothes are never that crisp and neat looking either,” She laughed. “Just saying.”

Octavia pouted. It was true, even her police blues were always pretty wrinkled. “Babe, c’mon..”

Clarke rolled her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time since she had woken up that morning. She enjoyed watching Raven and O bickering for a moment though, it was better to see them go after each other for once instead of ganging up on her. Clarke was completely content with letting them get distracted by going on about who gave who the sexier looks, sighing good-naturedly at her two friends. Some things never changed, and one of those things was definitely the dynamic between the three of them.

"I am not going to talk to her," Clarke repeated firmly, putting her beer down so that she could reach out and take another shot, downing it. "How many times do I have to say that I'm not interested? I'm just here to dance," She added, slamming the shot glass down on the table and clearing her throat a little as the alcohol burned it's way all the way down to her stomach.

* * *

 

Lexa waited patiently for her friends to return with their drinks, pulling out her phone and pretending to check her email, while she continued to subtly spy on the blonde woman and her two friends. They seemed like they were close, but the blonde woman looked like she wasn’t very amused with the other two women’s antics. Lexa watched them over the top of her phone, distractedly skimming an email from Anya that had just come in.

Leave it to Anya to still be at the office, at nearly midnight on the weekend.

“How’s it going, fine stud?” Costia asked and plunked a bourbon on the rocks down in front of the brunette. Lexa smiled and put her phone away, before she took a sip of the drink Costia had brought her.

“I’m going over there,” Lexa said confidently, a grin on her face. “Thanks for the drink. Where’s Lincoln?”

“He's at the bar, chatting up the bartender,” Costia said, rolling her eyes. “But you go ahead, go get your woman.”

“You sure?” Lexa asked her friend, as she stood up. “I can always stay if you want, Cos.”

Costia laughed. “Oh my god, no, I don’t give a shit. I’m sure I’ll find something to do, and you know Lincoln will probably bomb out with that bartender before too long. He’ll keep me company.”

As if on cue, Lincoln lumbered back up to their table with a beer in hand. “Where are you going?” He asked Lexa, while sliding in to sit next to Costia. “I got her number, by the way. But she had to get back to work,” Lincoln informed them triumphantly.

“She's going in for the kill,” Costia told him, as Lexa rolled her eyes at the comment. “Good job though, getting some digits. Here, have a shot.” Costia grabbed one of the slot glasses from the tray of six that she brought over and placed it in front of Lincoln, grinning.

“See you guys later,” Lexa said, walking away from her friends. “Don’t get too drunk and get yourselves kicked out or something, I’d _like_ to be able to come back to this bar again.”

Costia flipped Lexa off, and took another shot for herself

Lexa ambled her way across the club, over toward the table where the three women were still deep in their conversation. She walked up to the table, and the shorter brunette’s eyes went wide when Lexa got close enough to stand in front of them.

Raven's eyes went wide for a moment when she saw the brunette coming as well, the one with the baby face, approaching fast from behind Clarke. She looked at Clarke, before she looked to Octavia, brows raised in surprise.

“Oh my god, Clarke. It’s her,” Octavia whispered to Clarke as she noticed the woman from across the room, only a couple of feet away from them and getting closer. “She’s standing right behind you.”

Raven just leaned forward, with her elbows on the table as her girlfriend began whispering a hushed warning to Clarke. Raven grinned and waited for Clarke's reaction, she couldn’t wait to hear what the brunette had to say.

Clarke had reverted to nursing her can of beer, and had been thinking about how if Octavia and Raven didn't stop teasing her soon, then she was just going to get up and go dance with the first person that she found that _wasn't_ one of them, and make some new friends for the night.

Before she could even think of getting up and following through, however, Octavia began speaking to her in that hushed whisper. It took Clarke a long few seconds to realize what her friend was saying, and that Octavia was being completely dead serious. She could see the serious look on Raven’s face as well.

If they were joking about the brunette being behind her, then they were the worst friends ever, but just in case they weren't kidding, Clarke turned around quickly in her chair just to check for herself.

Lexa couldn’t help the amused grin that tugged at the corner of her lip as she heard what the shorter woman said to her friends. So they had been talking about her

“Excuse me, ladies,” Lexa said calmly, nodding politely at the two brunettes. She turned her gaze on the blonde. “I don’t mean to intrude, but I was wondering if I could buy you a drink.”

And there she was, the brunette woman with the beautiful green eyes, standing right there just like Octavia said.

Clarke froze, her mind going blank when she got a better look at the woman standing before her; her lithe figure, how captivating her eyes actually were up this close, the gentle curl of her hair, the crisp lines of her clothing. That _smile_ on her face. The brunette's whole outward presentation was perfect, honestly. Her hair was so nice and it looked so soft, it made Clarke suddenly wish that she had worn a bag over her own head.

This woman oozed class, not to mention confidence. The self satisfied grin on her lips, her full and perfect lips, was enough to make Clarke's heart stop for a second. When the brunette actually spoke, her voice was low and husky, kind of exactly how Clarke had imagined it would be, somehow.

When the brunette spoke again, addressing her directly this time, Clarke lost her own voice for a second. Being under the full weight of the other woman’s gaze made Clarke feel like she was melting. Clarke tried to answer her question when asked, but nothing came out except for a pathetic squeak. She turned back around to face her friends for a second, looking at Octavia and Raven with wide blue eyes and a slightly open mouth. Her brain was going a mile minute, frantic, but it was still stalling on her.

"What do I say?!" Clarke mouthed desperately at them, not even sure if her two friends would be able to make out what she was saying. She didn't want the woman behind her to know she was saying _anything_. Her face was a mask of pure panic. She only had a few seconds before she would have no choice but to actual natural and turn around to face the brunette again. She couldn't avoid answering forever.

If Octavia wasn’t so surprised by the woman's appearance, she would have had a better answer for Clarke. As it was, Octavia was trying not to burst out in giggles while she watched her best friend panic in front of them. How long had it even been since Clarke had flirted with anyone? This was really great entertainment.

Octavia shrugged at the blonde and mouthed back, “Talk to her?”

Just talk to her, that was Octavia’s award winning advice? Clarke loved how Octavia suggested that as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Clarke needed to recover her voice before she could talk, first of all, and that was easier said than done with green eyes standing right behind her

Clarke half wanted to smack her friend upside the head anyway, because Clarke was convinced that it had to be Octavia's fault that this intimidatingly beautiful brunette had found her way over here. It had to be because Octavia had been obnoxiously staring at their table since they got here, pointing out the guy that the brunette had been sitting with. It was Octavia who drew the attention to them in the first place, Clarke was convinced.

The brunette woman couldn’t have possibly come all of the way over here just because of the short few seconds that she and Clarke had locked eyes, or because of that sly wink that the brunette sent her way.. right? No, Clarke decided, definitely not. She felt better blaming Octavia, somehow, rather than admitting that perhaps her awkward across the room flirting may have played a part in her current predicament.

"I.. I actually just had a drink," Clarke managed to get out finally, hoping that she didn't sound half as stupid as she felt like. She was trying her best to think on her feet. "But I'd love to dance, if you want to?"

Let Octavia and Raven suck on that one, Clarke could do one better than a drink.  All day and night her friends had teased Clarke about not putting herself out there enough, and about the cute brunette across the room, but Clarke would show them. She could totally dance with this girl. But how much of it was actually trying to show off to her two friends, and how much of it was Clarke’s sudden inexplicable urge to find out just what the brunette’s body might feel like under those expensive clothes

Clarke cleared her throat softly before quickly pushing her chair back and standing up, flipping the bird at Octavia and Raven. "Bye, losers."

Lexa had watched the three women closely, becoming even more amused as she watched the blonde being put on the spot in front of her. Lexa really hadn’t meant to startle her and she smiled softly at the blonde when she turned back around. Lexa really tried not to stare too much, but it was hard _not_ to lock eyes with the blonde woman. Her eyes were so blue, and clear, that even from across the room Lexa had found herself getting lost in them.

She couldn’t help but let her eyes wander further, once the blonde finally stood up. Lexa tried not to be too obvious about her gaze, slowly sliding down the blonde’s body in her dress, and then flicking back up to meet her blue eyes again.

Really, an offer of dancing was actually better than Lexa had hoped for. She drained the drink in her hand, setting it on their table with the others. She offered her hand to Clarke. “Shall we?”

Raven laughed brightly, impressed with her friend. Look at Clarke, showing off and thinking on the fly, very smooth. Raven exchanged a look with Octavia, one that said _this bitch thinks she's funny_ , before she turned her grin back onto Clarke and Lexa while they got ready to leave the table together.

Clarke tried her best not to be self conscious of the way that the brunette woman gave her an appreciative once over when she stood, their gazes locking again for only a second before Clarke tore herself away, eyes averted. While the brunette was finishing downing her drink, Clarke leaned over and grabbed another one of Raven's shots and downed that quickly before they went, sliding the empty glass back in front of her friend.

She smiled and took Lexa's offered hand, only after a moment of hesitation, flipping Octavia and Raven off again with the other hand as they walked away.

“Have fun, _mom_ ,” Raven quipped at Clarke, sticking her tongue out at her friend’s receding back. “Play safe! And be back by bedtime!”  

Octavia watched the brunette leading Clarke away, snickering as Raven called after them. Octavia really hoped that Clarke was going to get laid tonight, because otherwise, she was probably going to rail them for this whole thing later on. She wiggled her eyebrows at her girlfriend

“Holy shit,” O said, once they were gone. She took a long drink of her beer. “She’s a little rusty, isn’t she? Baby face must be pretty interested in her.”

* * *

 

Lexa led the blonde away from the table, raising an eyebrow slightly at what the blonde woman’s friend had called out to her while they walked away.

“Did she just call you mom?” Lexa asked, curious. She glanced over to where her own friends were sitting, and Costia and Lincoln both waved and then promptly gave her the finger right after. Lexa just rolled her eyes. Such idiots.

Clarke had been half hoping that maybe the brunette might not have actually heard what Raven called her as she left, and she faltered a little bit when the other woman called her on it. "Oh, well.. you know, I'm like _the_ mom.. of the group, yeah. _Like_ the mom, not like.. _a_ mom, not somebody's mom," She told Lexa, immediately unsure why she was even lying to her. Clarke had certainly really been ashamed of being a mother before, and she wasn't ashamed now, she was just.. oddly nervous about this whole interaction.

She didn't even know why. Like Clarke had repeatedly told both of her friends, Clarke wasn't here _trying_ to hook up with this girl, or anyone else, while she was out tonight. Was she? The blonde couldn't deny that she already liked the way that her hand felt in the brunette woman's grasp, firm but gentle. Clarke liked how warm her fingers were and how their hands seemed to just fit together, just about perfectly. Clarke really didn't know why she was lying, all that she could come up with was that maybe she was nervous about impressing this woman, nervous about spooking her with too much information about her life, too soon. She didn't want to scare the brunette off already, when they'd just barely begun to talk to each other.

Lexa nodded along with Clarke stammering her answer, a soft smile on her face as she listened. It was cute, Lexa had gotten the impression that the blonde did seem to be the most responsible out of the three friends, even if only because of the way the other two women seemed to be teasing her while Lexa was watching earlier. The two brunettes at the table seemed to be a little more wild and laid back than the beautiful blonde attached to her hand, but Lexa didn’t mind that at all.

You couldn’t judge people by first impressions anyway, that was something she had learned quickly in the business world.

“That’s cute,” Lexa told her, being genuine. “I don’t know if we have one of those in my social circle, but I know we could certainly use a mom friend sometimes.”

She instinctively thought about Costia and Lincoln. She supposed Costia kind of filled that role best for them, although they kind of traded off depending on the nature of the situation. Lexa was pretty sure if she hadn’t lived with Costia and Lincoln during college, she would have never eaten properly or found time to shower or had clean laundry. Then again, how many bar owners had Lexa smoothed things over with for them in college, when the two of them got too drunk and got themselves kicked out? It all evened out. They _all_ just kind of took care of each other.  
  
When Lexa suggested that there was no mother figure amongst her group of friends, Clarke laughed. "Well, I don't play the role by choice.. I just kind of fell into it while we were growing up and they'd probably both be dead by now if I hadn't," the blonde admitted.

Clarke had definitely saved Raven and Octavia from their own recklessness, and their occasional stupidity, countless times. Several of those times had involved fast cars, bottle rockets and the roof of their high school, and Raven was still missing one of her pinky toes because of that particular incident.

Before Ellie had even been born, Raven and O were definitely like Clarke's parental training. When they were all younger, and they used to help Clarke with babysitting around their neighborhood for extra money, Raven and O often gave Clarke more trouble than the kid they’d end up babysitting. Being their third definitely meant full preparation for full time motherhood. But then on the opposite side of the coin, how many times had they helped her over the years? Clarke couldn’t even count them all.

Whether it was a break up, or helping her raise Ellie, or moving in with them, Raven and O were there. New Jersey could be a tough place to grow up, but Clarke didn't even have to fight her own battles when they were in high school, because they were always there and ready to brawl for her if they felt Clarke was being slighted by someone.. really, anything Clarke had ever needed. They annoyed her at times, but she would never deny that Octavia and Raven earned their keep. They could be creeps, sure, but they were still her very best friends and for good reason.  
  
"They're my roommates, but I've known them since like.. kindergarten or something. I've been playing the mom role for them for a _long_ time," She explained to Lexa, while they held onto each other and swayed to the music together. Clarke didn't even want to get into _why_ Raven and Octavia had needed a mother figure when they were growing up, but with the two pieces of work that O and Raven had for their mothers, it was no wonder that they gravitated to the Griffin house. If Octavia and Bellamy's mother wasn't working when they were kids, then she was drinking, and Raven's mother was one of the most judgmental, most pious women that Clarke had ever had the misfortune of meeting. It was no wonder that the three of them had ended up banding together the way that they did, all things considered.

“Sorry they're such asses, I totally raised them better than that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lexa smiled and nodded along as Clarke told her more about her roommates. “They seem nice,” She added. “They sound like my friends, honestly.. although, we don’t live together anymore. I miss it, we used to have a lot of fun.”

Lexa pulled the blonde in closer to her body as they danced, pulling her a little bit closer than maybe was necessary.

“So, what’s your name, beautiful?” Lexa asked her finally. She smiled at the blonde again, her eyes twinkling.  
  
Clarke couldn't deny the immediate jump in her pulse as they got closer, and she rested one hand gently on the brunette's shoulder to steady herself. Clarke really didn't want to fall on her ass in these heels, not in front of the brunette. Or those other two snickering assholes back at the table.

She had been content to just sort of bob her head along to the music, until the brunette asked what her name was and smiled at her like _that_ , with the cutest smile that Clarke had ever seen on a girl in person.  
  
Immediately, Clarke’s brain blanked and she felt like she forgot her own name, for just a second.  
  
"Clarke," She managed to get out, after what felt like way too long trying to remember it before she could speak. She smiled back at Lexa, half mortified with herself but trying to keep the embarrassment off her face at the very least. Clarke chewed her lip a little while they danced, trying to stare anywhere except for right into the other woman's eyes.

She couldn't look too deeply or too long into the brunette's gaze without getting lost in it, and it made Clarke feel a little.. unnerved, like the brunette was gazing back into her soul without even trying. It sounded ridiculous in her head, but it felt apt.

It was hard for Lexa not to pull the blonde even closer still while they danced. She felt an electric current surge through her every time they brushed against each other, and it was killing Lexa that the only contact she really had with the blonde was where her toned arms were loosely wrapped around Clarke’s waist, holding her close.

Lexa felt her heart jump when the blonde finally told her her name. It was like music. She tried to keep herself from grinning like an idiot, but it was hard when she met the other woman’s eyes again. She settled for another soft smile, the corners of her lips pulling upward as she looked at Clarke closely.

“Pretty name,” Lexa told her, her voice husky.

“Lexa,” She offered back, leaning in slightly so that Clarke would be able to hear her as the music around them got louder, the beat dropping. She didn’t offer her last name, not just yet, but she supposed that Clarke hadn't either. Lexa wasn’t a celebrity or anything close to that, but in the New York business world, the Woods name was high profile. It carried a lot of weight.

Lexa really didn’t like to use it when she was just out with friends. She was always worried that people only liked her for her money. Clarke didn’t initially strike her as that kind of woman, but Lexa was also already nervous enough without adding to it. She didn’t want to make the blonde uncomfortable either, if she recognized it.

Clarke was finding herself far from uncomfortable though. It was a strange feeling, but the longer that Clarke was on the floor with Lexa, the more relaxed the blonde began to feel. She barely even noticed the people around them after a few minutes, or even what song was playing. She was deaf to the bass thundering around them, mostly just absorbed in what Lexa was saying, how her lips moved, how they quirked into the most perfect little smirks.

There was just something about the way that the brunette's arms were wrapped loosely around her, even with how casual it was, Clarke felt.. very safe, and very content. Like she was just where she was supposed to be, finally. It was definitely a weird feeling, almost intrusive. It made Clarke adjust her own grip on Lexa slightly, moving to daintily wrap her arms around the brunette’s neck instead of just resting her hand on one of her shoulders.

Clarke was trying her best to keep her distance somewhat still, trying not to grind up on the brunette completely. She had no idea how to gauge just what kind of dancing Lexa had been interested in when she agreed to dancing with her. Lexa looked like a classy woman, the kind of person that was probably classically trained in every fine art form there was. She could be a famous ballerina or something for all Clarke knew. Lexa’s idea of dancing was probably _not_ bumping and grinding all over each other like they used to do at the high school dances back in Jersey, and Clarke didn't want to embarrass herself. But the music was really too fast for anything else.

Clarke found herself smiling up at the brunette slightly, her eyes meeting Lexa’s for a second, just as the other woman told her that she had a pretty name. Clarke was almost positive, in that moment, that her heart stopped beating and began trying to escape her chest instead.

The other woman's husky voice sent unexpected chills down the Clarke’s spine, even though she had struggled to even hear Lexa’s above the song that was playing.

And when Lexa leaned in close and told Clarke what her name was in turn, it was unexplainable but Clarke felt like she had kind of already known what it would be. There was no other way to explain it, the name just fit the other woman perfectly. "Lexa," Clarke repeated, trying it out on her tongue and finding that she liked it, it felt natural.

"Cute," Clarke remarked, after a moment of consideration.

Lexa’s heart nearly stopped as Clarke spoke her name. She had always scoffed at the idea of meeting someone you were meant for, because that just didn’t seem realistic to her. No matter who you were, there was always would always be a give and take with another human that you had to learn before it worked. There was no such thing as two people who were _destined_ to be together, in Lexa's opinion.

But then Clarke said her name for the first time, and Lexa was positive that the blonde in front of her was the one who was _meant_ to say her name, just like that. She couldn’t describe what it was about the way Clarke said it, something just clicked into place in that moment, and it was like the first ray of light that peaked out over the earth when the sun rose in the morning. It was organic, and spontaneous, and unhindered by the rest of the universe, it was perfect.

Lexa was too enamored to even protest the fact that Clarke had also called her cute. She just kept dancing

While Lexa was half way to flustered, Clarke found herself glancing behind them, back toward Octavia and Raven’s table. She couldn't really see either of her friends from where she and Lexa were in the crowd, and it was probably for the best, with what she was thinking about doing. When Clarke turned back around to face Lexa again, the blonde woman found herself leaning in and closing the last couple of inches between them, pressing her lips passionately against Lexa's mouth while the brunette was still leaned close to her.

Clarke didn't know why it felt so _right_ to kiss the brunette, when it went against everything that she had preached to her friends all night about not wanting a hook up, but like the rest of her interactions with Lexa so far, it just kind of felt natural.

Lexa had been glad for a moment that the blonde seemed distracted by looking over her shoulder. She was able to regain a little of her composure while Clarke was looking away, but then Clarke was pressing her lips to hers and any semblance of composure that Lexa had scraped together in that brief second was lost. They were soft, and sweet, and Lexa instantly wanted to know what the rest of Clarke’s body would feel like, preferably with her lips all over it.

She pulled the blonde in flush against her body, taking control of the kiss and sliding a cautious tongue across the other woman’s lips.

Clarke had no idea what had gotten into her all of a sudden, but whatever it was, she was in deep now and there was really no turning back. Her mind went functionally blank as soon as her lips met Lexa's anyway; any thoughts of her friends watching, or common sense, or any ideas what she was doing, were wiped completely from her brain. She wanted this.

She couldn't really think about much, except for how Lexa’s kiss tasted like expensive bourbon. Clarke normally hated the taste of whiskey but suddenly, it didn't bother her in the slightest. In that moment, Clarke almost _liked_ the taste of bourbon. Years after, the taste of it on Lexa’s mouth would always make her think of that exact kiss.

Clarke dug her fingers into Lexa's shoulders through her jacket when Lexa pulled her in, pressing her own body closer to the brunette in kind. She was glad that Lexa seemed prepared to take control of the situation, because Clarke really had no idea what she was doing, but she knew enough to know that she didn't want to stop.

She parted her lips for the brunette without even a second thought, her tongue brushing back against Lexa's deliberately, fighting for dominance in the most subtle way possible.

It was only a kiss, but Lexa felt like she was being pulled in a thousand different directions, all at once. She clung to Clarke as if the blonde was the only thing grounding her in the present, because it felt like if she let Clarke go then she would be lost. To what or where, Lexa didn’t exactly know.

Lexa wasn’t even sure how long they kissed; all she knew was that they weren’t even swaying to the beat anymore, they were just standing together in the middle of the mash of people, pressing up against each other, hands grabbing.

Finally, Lexa broke away from the blonde, her heart pounding as she panted. She stared into Clarke’s eyes for a moment, completely lost in the deep blue of them. It was like there were galaxies and universes just beyond them, and all Lexa had to do was stare at the other woman and she was lost to another world, or perhaps another time, she wasn’t sure.

Clarke was left completely breathless when they broke apart. It was just a kiss but yet in a span of a few seconds, the blonde had felt numb and then shortly after, tingly all over from the top of her head right down to her toes. Her stomach was a cartwheeling mess. Clarke was in a daze, her pulse racing as her eyes met Lexa's gaze, staring deeply into her vibrant green eyes, searching them. They reminded Clarke of the vivid greenery of an endless forest, the vast green of the sea.

They were mesmerizing, like no eyes that Clarke had ever seen before, like they were the eyes that Clarke had always been meant to look into. There was something about them. Looking into Lexa's eyes made Clarke feel like she was suddenly missing something that she hadn't even realized she needed, until now, and the desire that Clarke saw reflected in them made her weak in the knees. She was glad to be holding onto the brunette as tightly as she was, if only for support.

It felt much longer, but their eye contact only lasted a second before Lexa was speaking again, but Clarke was still left with the lingering heat of the gaze.

“Come with me?” Lexa asked, her voice low and her eyes dark with want. She grabbed Clarke’s hand without a second thought, and laced their fingers together, before leading the blonde off the dance floor in a hurry.

It was hard to hear the other woman over the volume of the club, and Clarke’s head was spinning, but she quickly nodded in agreement anyway. "Of course," She told Lexa. She sounded a little more eager than someone who supposedly _wasn't_ there to hook up with anybody.

But there was a feeling in the pit of Clarke’s stomach, and oddly enough, in her heart, that told her that Lexa wasn't _just_ anybody. She was somebody, something special. Octavia was always talking about karma and chi and energy and _exchanging_ energies and all of that stuff. Was this that? There was definitely this unexplained intensity to her and Lexa’s exchange so far.

There was a spark, like Clarke had never felt with another person, and there was no denying that. Evidently, no fighting it either. She didn’t have a single protest to Lexa leading the way, holding tightly onto the brunette’s hand as they weaved through the crowded club and toward the back wall, towards the bathroom. Their entwined fingers were giving Clarke even more butterflies in the pit of her stomach, which was what she felt most focused on. She could barely believe this was happening.

Clarke wasn’t even thinking about the fact that Octavia and Raven might start to wonder where she had gone, if they decided to look for her. She just allowed Lexa to lead the way to wherever it was they were going, following close behind. Clarke really didn't care where they ended up, honestly, as long as she was going there with Lexa

Personally, Lexa usually had a rule about hooking up in club bathrooms; the rule being that she was normally _above_ such things, but tonight she didn’t care. Lexa wanted Clarke now, as soon as possible, and she didn’t think she could wait for the blonde until they got back to her apartment.

Although, Lexa was definitely going to ask if Clarke wanted to come home with her after. That would most definitely be _after_ whatever this was about to turn into, however. She didn’t have the patience to hold back all night, not tonight.


End file.
